...is the story of the ragtag bunch of misfits who steal the plans, deliver them to the Rebel Alliance and--Spoiler Alert!--pay for it with their lives.

I loved this movie, and consider it one of the best Star Wars films made to date.

I'm wondering if I'm just being a fanboy by rushing to give the film a 5-star rating. (It also received 8.1 out of 10 stars on IMDb). I'll probably have to watch it a few more times to actually see any plot holes.

Seriously. Can't the "...galaxy far, far away..." even in the expanded universe, function without Luke, Liea, Han and Chewie?

Rogue One breaks this pattern. And this is what I love most about the movie. Swiping the Death Star plans cost the Rebel Alliance dearly. It's not just red shirts dying on-screen, but the main characters. All of them.

Even though this was a story about new characters on a one-way mission, there were plenty of appearances by iconic characters, thanks to cool, but sometimes unsettling CGI.

Studio Spin-Offs

About the Director

I'm a retired USAF TACP (Tactical Air Control Party) member, now working for Washington State Emergency Management. In addition to being an Emergency Operations Specialist at my day/night/weekend job, I'm a Foreign Affairs Specialist, gamer and writer.
I maintain three blogs as an on-line platform. "Stern Rake Studio," my central site, explores a variety of topics on gaming, pop-culture and writing. "Station WTFO" is where I post comments and discussions on the national and international issues that concern us. Finally, "The Redshift Chronicles," is a spin-off of "Stern Rake Studio." This site focuses on sci-fi gaming and is home to my long-form webcomic "Breakout from Bongolaan."